FROM UPSCALE ITALIAN and Thai to Tex-Mex and more casual fare, there are many new ways to get your taste buds primed for a new year of eating in H-Town. You’ve been cooped up too long — here’s where to pull up a chair!
HiWay Cantina
Fajitas at HiWay
Agricole Hospitality’s EaDo concept Indianola recently morphed into a lively Tex-Mex bar and grill. Highlights include mesquite grilled fajita plates; tamarind grilled quail; chipotle glazed shrimp brochette, and Guerrero pozole, a flavorful version of traditional Mexican soup. Count on seven margaritas, all kinds of cool cocktails, and an impressive menu of tequilas.
Layne's Chicken Fingers
Layne's
Craving expertly fried chicken? Make a quick stop at the newest Layne’s in Montrose, a fast-casual spot hailing from Bryan, Texas. The Aggie favorite flaunts crispy chicken tender sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, potato salad, and milkshakes. Tenders can be paired with one of four dipping sauces for the ultimate midnight snack. Dine-in or drive-thru.
Lightnin's Good Times
Vinny's Pizza at Lightnin's
Come for the live music but stay for the well-crafted cocktails and mouthwatering food from Vinny’s pizza joint next door. From the team behind EZ’s Liquor Lounge, the divey bar offers plenty of entertainment including a large dance floor, pool tables, darts, pinball games, and TVs to watch all the games.
Lombardi Cucina Italiana
Lombardi's Risotto Limone Capesante
This posh newcomer to Uptown Park comes from Dallas-based restaurant group Lombardy Family Concepts. Residing in the shuttered The Tasting Room space, the modern, luxurious restaurant specializes in freshly made pastas alongside shareable sides like meatballs, wood-grilled octopus, and entrees including steaks, osso bucco and whole branzino.
Maine-ly Sandwiches
Maine-ly lobster roll
Inner-loop seafood lovers will rejoice when this New England-style sandwich shop opens its second location in Sawyer Yards on Jan. 27. Luscious lobster rolls (including new specialty rolls like fried lobster tail), clam chowder, fried clam strips, shrimp or crab rolls, meatball subs and fish ‘n chips await. “I’ve always admired Maine cooking, especially my mom’s,” owner Buddy Charity said in a press release. “There is little Maine or New England cooking in in Houston, and we wanted to change that.” Guests can BYOB at both locations.
Street to Kitchen
Street to Kitchen (photo by Richard Casteel)
In case you missed it, Benchawan Painter, recently awarded James Beard Best Chef Texas, opened her newly relocated Street to Kitchen over the holidays in The Plant. Expect an exotic and much larger space than her tiny original and a concise menu of Thai classics done her way. Top-notch dishes to consider: Green curry chicken; steamed pork and shiitake dumplings; Drunken noodles chicken or veggie; garlic chive pancake.
Tavola
Tavola's linguine with lobster
Voila! La Table is now Tavola, from The Bastion Collection and Berg Hospitality. The concept explores the various culinary regions of Italy with exec-chef Luca Di Benedetto helming the kitchen. Expect lovely salads such as Crab Avocado and Tavola Caesar with options to add proteins like prime sirloin or prawns. Pasta dishes including luxe lobster linguine, veal Milanesee, and Prawns Buzara headline the entees. The glamourous new design in rich coral hues features a gallery, brasserie-style bar and enclosed patio.
Wild Oats
Beef short rib at Wild Oats (photo by Becca Wright)
The newly relocated Spring Branch spot from Underbelly Hospitality has introduced brunch service and new daily hours of operation. On the Texas-style family-friendly menu, anticipate Armadillo eggs, campechana, a giant short rib, chicken fried steak, queso fundido, and a new seafood boil.
From Your Site Articles
- Mamma Mia! New Restaurant in Highland Village Adds to H-Town's Profusion of Great Italian Spots ›
- Welcome to 2024! Here’s Where to Wine and Dine on New Year’s Eve! ›
- Flurry of New Restaurants Is Just One Reason to Head to Houston’s East End Now ›
- The Best Is Yet to Come: New Sichuan, Seafood, Mexican and More Openings in 2024 ›
- Bacon-Washed Tequila, Japanese Shaved Ice, Insane Milkshakes and More Must-Haves from Five Newbies Bowing Now - Houston CityBook ›
Keep Reading
Show less
THIS FRIDAY, FEB. 2, Houston Francophiles and silent-film fanatics are invited to bundle up and enjoy Cinema Luminaire at Discovery Green, a program of rarely screened, extraordinarily imaginative silent films created between 1902 and 1907 by magician, actor, and director Georges Méliès. The screenings will be accompanied by live music from Houston-based French violinist Kami Ghavi Helm. The films will be screened on an oversized movie screen on The Anheuser-Busch Stage. Cinema Luminaire is presented in partnership between Discovery Green and the artist residency organization Villa Albertine in Houston.
The event’s title namechecks brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière, French manufacturers of photography equipment, and best known for their Cinématographe motion picture system and the short films they produced between 1895 and 1905.
When Méliès saw these films, each one a simply framed and straightforward shot of a physical activity such as kids jumping off a dock into the ocean (La Mer) and a baby reaching into a fish bowl for a goldfish (La Pêche aux poissons rouges), he was inspired to use this new technology to create something much weirder and more imaginative. Méliès got his own camera, constructed a studio, designed sets, wrote scripts, and created a series of groundbreaking, stylish, and highly influential films using pioneering camera tricks such as stop motion, slow motion, superimposition, and double exposure.
The program begins with Méliès’s 13-minute masterpiece A Trip to the Moon (1902). An inspiration for the video of The Smashing Pumpkins song, “Tonight, Tonight,” this is the one where a rocket launched from Earth lands in the right eye of the Moon. Following A Trip to the Moon is a selection of his short films introduced by Keith Houk, professor at the University of Houston. The rest of the program includes The Eclipse (1907), Good Glue Sticks (1907), The Cook in Trouble (1904), and The Living Playing Cards (1905). The event is free, but registration is encouraged.
From Your Site Articles
- The Ballet’s Drive-In Film Fest Revs Up ›
- For Kids Musician Andyroo, A Dire Diagnosis Was a Call to Action ›
- From Paul Wall to Putt-Putt, Here's What's Happening at Discovery Green This Spring ›
- Bring the Family to Enjoy This Record-Breaking Animated Film Celebrating Ukrainian Culture at Discovery Green ›
- Houston's Public-Art Mecca Launches New Mentorship Program for Budding Artists - Houston CityBook ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less